"Heritage has a well-deserved reputation for unearthing ‘fresh’ material for our Signature auctions," said Chris Ivy, Director of Heritage Auction Galleries’ Sports Collectibles division. "We’ve clearly lived up to that reputation for this sale."

"Clay writes about the approaching 1960 Olympics in Rome in one letter and about his first professional bout in another, as well as a young lady he couldn’t forget," Ivy said. "They’re the earliest Ali letters we’ve ever encountered, and the content couldn’t be any more desirable."

"A year ago, Dykstra was considered one of the great financial geniuses of our time," Ivy said. "Today he’s yet another in a long list of fallen business titans." The son of early Chicago Blackhawks great Harold "Mush" March provides the treasures of his father’s career for advanced hockey collectors.

"Best in the collection are the puck’s netted by March to win the 1934 Stanley Cup in sudden death overtime, and to record the first goal in the history of Toronto’s Maple Leaf Gardens," Ivy explained.

Not to be outdone, the trading card portion of the auction, presented in an Extended Bidding format on Thursday October 1st, is anchored by the spectacular “Freedom Collection of Elite Baseball Trading Cards,” featuring 40 of the rarest and most remarkably preserved Hall of Fame representations in the hobby.

"Sports fans around the world are going to want to participate in this auction," Ivy said, "and I'd encourage everyone to visit our homepage at www.HA.com/Sports, where they'll see enlargeable, full-color images of each and every lot, complete with our thorough and informative catalog descriptions. They'll even have an opportunity to place bids online."

The trading card portion of the auction will end on Thursday, Oct. 1, in an Extended Bidding format, each lot closing individually after 30 minutes of bidding inactivity following the 10 p.m. CT cut-off. The memorabilia will be sold Oct. 2 in a Live auction format beginning at 12 noon CT, with bidders able to participate in person, by telephone, or online at www.HA.com/Live.

HSC specializes in rare and collectible sports cards, as well as uniforms, equipment, and related vintage sports memorabilia. Consignments for future Signature Sports Auctions are currently being accepted. Prospective consignors or sellers of quality vintage sports cards and sports memorabilia are encouraged to contact:

For more information about Heritage's auctions, and a complete record of prices realized, along with full-color, enlargeable photos of each lot, please visit www.HA.com.

To reserve your copy of any Heritage auction catalog, please contact Client Services at 1-800-872-6467, ext. 1150, or visit www.HA.com/Catalog to order by email.

Heritage Auction Galleries is the world’s third largest auction house, and by far the largest auctioneer of rare collectibles, with annual sales more than $700 million, and 450,000+ registered online bidder members.